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Turning Once a Day is a free printable Grade 5 science worksheet on explaining day and night and the sun's daily path by Earth's spin, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 5-ESS1-2. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 4 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Turning Once a Day

5-ESS1-2

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.In the evening, which way does a stick's shadow point?
  • A.Toward the east, away from the setting sun
  • B.Straight up
  • C.Toward the west, at the sun
2.When it is noon on one side of Earth, what time is it on the opposite side?
  • A.Also noon
  • B.Early morning everywhere
  • C.About midnight
3.Why is it night in Australia while it is day in Britain?
  • A.Australia is further from the sun
  • B.The sun switches off over Australia
  • C.They are on opposite sides of the spinning Earth, so one faces the sun and one faces away
4.If Earth spun around faster, what would happen to the length of each day and night?
  • A.Days and nights would be shorter
  • B.They would be longer
  • C.Nothing would change
5.Why is a shadow shortest around the middle of the day?
  • A.The sun is furthest away
  • B.The sun is at its highest in the sky
  • C.The sun is smallest then
6.Why does a stick's shadow swing around during the day?
  • A.The sun's position in the sky changes as Earth turns
  • B.The stick bends in the heat
  • C.The ground moves under the stick
7.The sun rises earlier in a town far to the east than in a town far to the west. Why?
  • A.The eastern town is closer to the sun
  • B.Earth turns toward the east, so eastern places turn into sunlight first
  • C.The sun rises twice
8.Early in the morning, which way does a stick's shadow point?
  • A.Straight down
  • B.Toward the east, at the sun
  • C.Toward the west, away from the rising sun

LessonPrint · 5-ESS1-2 · Set 4 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Turning Once a Day

Set 4. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Toward the east, away from the setting sun
  2. 2.About midnight
  3. 3.They are on opposite sides of the spinning Earth, so one faces the sun and one faces away
  4. 4.Days and nights would be shorter
  5. 5.The sun is at its highest in the sky
  6. 6.The sun's position in the sky changes as Earth turns
  7. 7.Earth turns toward the east, so eastern places turn into sunlight first
  8. 8.Toward the west, away from the rising sun

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 5-ESS1-2 of the Next Generation Science Standards.